Surrey, B.C. – TELUS is investing $250 million to connect more than 90 per cent of homes and businesses in Surrey directly to its fibre optic network. Planning is currently underway, and construction work will begin in the coming weeks. TELUS anticipates connecting all homes and businesses before the end of 2018.

“Direct fibre connection unleashes infinite possibilities now and into the future,” said Tony Geheran, TELUS Executive Vice-President and President of Broadband Networks. “Surrey is the second largest municipality in the province, and this generational investment will dramatically improve Internet speed and capacity for residents and businesses large and small, as well as health care facilities and schools. Once the build is complete, Surrey will truly have a competitive advantage.”

The gigabit-enabled TELUS PureFibre network is among the most advanced communications infrastructure available in the world today, enabling connected residents to immediately take advantage of dramatically faster Internet speeds of up to 150 megabits per second, while interested businesses, schools, healthcare providers, and institutions can access even more speed and capacity. As demand and Internet technologies evolve in the coming years TELUS will offer faster speeds and more capacity, sufficient for decades to come. This new fibre optic infrastructure will also be the backbone of TELUS’ wireless network, enabling even more wireless capacity and speed. Local healthcare providers, educators and technology companies will be able to draw upon the technology to reimagine how they deliver existing services and develop entirely new solutions.

“A direct fibre connection will allow Surrey residents to access the fastest Internet speeds possible, providing improved opportunities to learn, do business, access services and stay connected,” said Amrik Virk, Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services and MLA for Surrey-Tynehead. “There is a direct relationship between access to high speed Internet and a strong economy; as the need for speed increases to support new applications and services, this $250 million investment will help Surrey businesses compete globally.”

“In today’s connected world, residents, businesses and institutions rely heavily on quality high-speed Internet access in daily life. Keeping pace with this increasing need is integral to ensuring Surrey’s prosperous economic future,” said Mayor Linda Hepner. “Today’s announcement supports Surrey’s forthcoming Smart Surrey Broadband Strategy and contributes to our vision of building a city that is at the leading-edge of connectivity and innovation.”

This investment is part of TELUS’ commitment to invest $4.5 billion throughout B.C. between 2016 and 2019, at no cost to taxpayers. For more information, please visit telus.com/surrey.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is Canada’s fastest-growing national telecommunications company, with $12.7 billion of annual revenue and 12.6 million subscriber connections, including 8.5 million wireless subscribers, 1.6 million high-speed Internet subscribers, 1.4 million residential network access lines and more than 1.0 million TELUS TV customers. TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video, and is Canada's largest healthcare IT provider.

TELUS in B.C.:

TELUS is planning to invest more than $4.5 billion in new infrastructure and facilities across its home province of British Columbia between 2016 and 2019. By the end of 2019 TELUS expects to have invested more than $51 billion in British Columbia since 2000 to extend the reach of advanced wireless and wireline telecommunications infrastructure throughout the province. As part of that commitment, TELUS has connected homes, businesses, schools and healthcare institutions in more than 24 communities directly to TELUS’ fibre network in order to support sustained innovation and fuel the province’s economic growth. The TELUS Health team is leveraging technology innovation to deliver better health outcomes for British Columbians as a leading provider of electronic medical records for physicians and as a partner of the B.C. government in introducing home health monitoring.

In support of the company’s philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, team members and retirees have contributed more than $135 million and 3.76 million volunteer hours to charitable and community organizations throughout British Columbia since 2000. Created in 2005 by President and CEO Darren Entwistle, TELUS has 15 local community boards dedicated to supporting local projects. The three Community Boards in B.C. have donated more than $12.9 million in support of nearly 1,500 local charitable projects since inception, in partnership with regional TELUS Community Action Teams.

In September 2015 TELUS opened its new headquarters, TELUS Garden, located in downtown Vancouver. Rich with innovative architectural, technological and environmental features, TELUS Garden is the first office tower in Canada to receive the new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification for sustainable development. The one million square foot development also includes a 53-storey residential tower currently under construction and targeting LEED Gold standards with 424 green homes and retail space.